NHS Confederation responds to Ministry of Defence support for London hospitals

Responding to the news that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is sending in support to London hospitals, Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, said:

“The NHS will take all the support it can get, however, the military are no substitute for frontline clinicians who are in desperately short supply, so we need to be realistic about how much of a difference this will make in London.

"The issues facing the NHS are complex and won’t be addressed simply by bringing in extra bodies. Staff sickness and self-isolation levels, access to testing, and problems discharging patients due to lack of capacity in social care, are all adding to the current pressures.

"We are calling for six key changes to be made to support the NHS through January, which would have a wider impact on service delivery. While bringing in the military does add welcome pairs of hands, it doesn’t resolve any of the underlying challenges.”